ASB election rigged; faculty adviser out

Troy High School senior Jacob Bigham, 17, was suspended for five days last spring after he broke into his Fullerton school's student database to prove that the school's student body adviser hand-picked the candidates she wanted for Associated Student Body president and vice president. Bigham of Buena Park got the most votes running as ASB vice president, but was permanently removed from ASB as punishment for breaking into the Troy database.CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

UPDATE: School officials have reopened their investigation into Troy High School's election-rigging incident, after critics – including a state lawmaker – attacked the school's handling of the matter. Click here to read the latest.

FULLERTON – Two students who were declared the winners of Troy High School's top student political offices in April will not assume their posts this fall, after one of the candidates broke into a school database and discovered the election was rigged by the school's ASB faculty adviser.

Jenny Redmond, a Troy special-education teacher, has resigned as ASB adviser. Troy senior Jacob Bigham, who revealed that the candidates named ASB president and ASB vice president weren't the top vote-getters, received a five-day suspension and was stripped of his ASB office, he said.

The actual winner of the Associated Student Body presidency, senior Ryan Daliwal, will assume Troy's top student post when school begins Aug. 27. Bigham, who ran for and won the ASB vice presidency, will not be allowed to take office; second-place finisher Taylor Kang will be ASB vice president for 2012-13.

"No one is empowered to change what the students vote," George Giokaris, superintendent for the Fullerton Joint Union High School District, said in an interview. "There's no question it's unacceptable and that message was conveyed. She overstepped her authority."

But Troy students remain outraged by the school's handling of the matter, noting that while Bigham received a five-day suspension immediately after coming forward with allegations of ASB election fraud on April 23, Redmond continued teaching the ASB leadership class for the remainder of the school year.

"The implications of what I did vs. what she did are not on par with each other," said Bigham, 17, of Buena Park, who was stripped of his post as ASB secretary after exposing the scandal. "I feel changing the results of an election has far more gravity than finding out by whatever means that someone did that."

Troy High Principal Margaret Buchan confirmed Redmond resigned as ASB adviser toward the end of the school year in June, but declined to say whether Redmond was disciplined, noting it was a confidential personnel matter. Buchan and Giokaris also declined to say whether her resignation was forced or voluntary, again citing employee privacy.

Redmond continues to work full time at the school as a special-education teacher.

"Ms. Redmond is not evil and awful – she was a very dedicated, hard-working individual prior to this incident, and through it all, she's remained a kind, caring and hard-working teacher," Buchan said. "I didn't support her decision how she reported the results, and therefore I altered the decision."

Redmond did not return multiple phone messages left for her this week at Troy, where she is working this summer. She was hired five years ago by Fullerton's high school district, according to personnel records, and served as Troy's ASB adviser for two years.

Troy, which sits a few blocks from Cal State Fullerton, is one of the top-rated high schools in Orange County, last year clinching the No. 3 spot on The Orange County Register's rankings of the county's best public schools.

Students critical of school response

News of the scandal spread quickly among Troy students by word of mouth and on social media, but students said they wanted an official explanation from school administrators – an explanation that never came.

"The school didn't know what to do at first," said Troy senior Helen Koo, 17, who covered the story for the Oracle student newspaper. "The administration tried to handle things one step at a time, but they needed to address us about the adviser who caused all of this. There were a lot of things made uncomfortable by the school not doing anything about that."

Troy High School senior Jacob Bigham, 17, was suspended for five days last spring after he broke into his Fullerton school's student database to prove that the school's student body adviser hand-picked the candidates she wanted for Associated Student Body president and vice president. Bigham of Buena Park got the most votes running as ASB vice president, but was permanently removed from ASB as punishment for breaking into the Troy database. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Troy High School teacher Jenny Redmond is no longer the student government faculty adviser, after a student broke into the school's online record-keeping system in April and revealed that Redmond had rigged the school's annual ASB election, hand-picking candidates for ASB president and vice president who did not receive the most student votes. TROY 2012 YEARBOOK PHOTO, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
This computer screen shot of Troy High School ASB adviser Jenny Redmond's online records database shows the raw election tallies for the school's ASB election in April. Each line corresponds to the votes tally for a particular office; deciphering it requires knowing what multiple-choice letters (i.e. A, B, C) the candidates were assigned on the Scantron election ballot. Jacob Bigham, the Troy student who broke into Redmond's account and took this screenshot, was suspended for five days and stripped of his ASB office. The screenshot was published in Troy's student newspaper in May. COURTESY OF JACOB BIGHAM, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Oracle, Troy High's student newspaper, ran a front-page article in its May 18 edition about April's student government election-rigging scandal, in which candidates who received the most votes for ASB president and ASB vice president were not declared the winners. The Oracle's news coverage included a computer-screen snapshot of the raw election tallies, captured by senior Jacob Bigham, who was suspended for breaking into his school's online record-keeping system to obtain the tallies. COURTESY OF TROY HIGH ORACLE NEWSPAPER, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
This editorial cartoon was published in Troy High School's student newspaper in May as a commentary on how the school's administration handled an ASB election-rigging scandal that led to the faculty adviser's resignation. School officials concluded that teacher Jenny Redmond hand-picked candidates for ASB president and ASB vice president who didn't receive the most student votes. COURTESY OF TROY HIGH ORACLE NEWSPAPER, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Troy High School ASB faculty adviser Jenny Redmond, pictured in the school's 2011-12 yearbook, was found to have rigged the school's ASB elections in April. Although she is no longer the ASB adviser, she remains in her full-time role as a special-education teacher at Troy. School officials have declined to comment on whether she was disciplined. TROY 2012 YEARBOOK PHOTO, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jacob Bigham, 17, who uncovered an ASB election-rigging scandal at Troy High School, hopes to get into UC Berkeley after graduation. "That probably doesn't surprise you," Bigham says with a smile. He plans to major in political science and chemistry. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Troy High School senior Jacob Bigham, 17, plans to discuss the ASB election-rigging scandal that he uncovered in his college admission essay. It's a must, he said, because it'll be his opportunity to explain the five-day suspension on his record for breaking into a school computer database. PHOTO BY CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Troy High School, home to an ASB election-rigging scandal that led to the ASB faculty adviser's resignation, is one of the top-rated high schools in Orange County. Last year, Troy clinched the No. 3 spot on The Orange County Register's rankings of the county's best public schools. PHOTO BY CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Two students who were declared the winners of Troy High School's top student political offices in April will not assume their posts this fall, after one of the candidates broke into a school database and discovered the election was rigged by the school's ASB faculty adviser. PHOTO BY CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Troy High School's ASB faculty adviser has resigned and a student has been stripped of his ASB office following revelations that the adviser rigged the student election last spring. PHOTO BY CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, TEXT BY SCOTT MARTINDALE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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